


Ties That Bind

by Joiedevivre



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-26 14:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/967103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joiedevivre/pseuds/Joiedevivre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Kate's "We've Been Renewed!!!!!" <a href="http://prologuize.livejournal.com/9322.html">Ficathon</a>. Originally posted on LJ. Please excuse the cheesy title; it was also originally untitled. </p><p>Prompt: <i>Annie consoles Britta after her breakup with Troy</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties That Bind

She isn't sure she's sad, at the beginning. And there's no one word, or even combination of words she can use to say what she's feeling, even if anyone was listening. Which they aren't. It's not like her, they'd think if they saw her now, face resting on her arms as she sits alone. Even at her worst moments in front of the rest of the group, she's still put on the face of independence and bravado. 

_Knock knock, who's there. Oh, it's cancer? Oh good, come on in I thought it was Britta._

Her own words ring back to her now. Even in her defeat she'd been defiant. She remembers how hurt she'd been by Troy that week, his repeated jabs that shouldn't have hurt as much as they did. She remembers when she talked to him about, much much later, when they were taking those first tiny, careful steps towards the big D - Dating, and it had to be with a capital D, because it was always that way when it came to the group. 

Being in the study group is like being a superhero. Everything you do just feels like it has more magnitude (pop, pop) when you're around those six other people. Sure, the stakes are never really that high, but knowing that never changes anything. So dating - Dating - Troy wasn't a simple matter of 'I like you, let's go out!'. It had to be the whole shebang. All or nothing. Live or die. 

Superheros. Batman. She tucks her chin into the crook of her arm and wonders if she wants to cry. 

"Britta?" Annie's concerned, high voice sounded from beside, and she sits up straight, quickly, to put on a bright face. 

"Hey Annie!" she says, and knows right away it's too cheerful. Annie's knowing face is too much for her to bear though, uncertain as she is about how she's even feeling, so she plunges on. "How'd that test go?" she asked, voice still strained and far too light. She wonders how she looks, if she has that same expression she always does when she tries to lie - eyes wide, brows lifted, big smile plastered ear to ear with too many teeth showing. 

From Annie's expression, she knows she does. 

"Do you maybe want to talk about it?" Annie offers tentatively, twisting her hands awkwardly at her waist. She looks like she doesn't know what to do, but Britta thinks that's probably an act. Annie seems like she's been a shoulder to cry on many many times. Then again, Annie's had her fair share of troubles, and probably not had a shoulder to cry on herself, not to mention she had some pretty strong feelings for Troy as well, so maybe that expression is real and she's thinking of all of her pains that went unsaid. And suddenly, she's nodding before she knows it, and she's definitely not crying is she? Well, she's not crying, not the gasping hiccuping sobs that have felt so cathartic in the past, but her eyes hurt and her face is wet, and Annie is reaching up to hug her as best as she can with her short little self. 

"Maybe let's go somewhere private?" Annie asks, looking around the classroom. It's empty, and classes have finished for the day, but that doesn't mean she can't shanghai Britta somewhere where she'll spill her guts. Britta nods, surreptitiously swiping the back of one hand over her face to dry the tears that definitely weren't there.

"So I know this place on my way home that sells really good fruit smoooothies," Annie says, drawing out her words the way she does when she's trying to be tempting. "Totally vegan, my treat, and then we can go to your place and I'll even watch that documentary with you! You know the one about the warlord?"

Nothing gets Britta's attention faster than talking about political matters that she's invested in, so she immediately falls into the trap, even forgetting that the reason they have to go to her place is that Troy is at Annie's, of course. "He's not a war lord, Annie, he's a war criminal and what he does is really terrible! You should see what -" 

"And, I will," Annie interrupts her, and Britta can't even really be mad because Annie's smiling so cheerfully. But here's the kicker, Annie isn't done yet, "... as soon as you talk about you and Troy!" 

Britta groans, "Uuuuuugh," she says, rolling her eyes. "Fine," she says. "But you have to help give my cat a bath too." Annie's smile dims a couple notches, but they're already walking and it's clear that she's committed to this, so she nods.

"Okay... is it the -" her voice drops to a whisper. "Is it the incontinent one?" 

It's such an Annie thing to ask that Britta has to laugh, and it feels really good. "No," she says. "It's my new one. His name is Godwin, after William Godwin?" she looks to Annie for recognition but of course there's none there, so she sighs and continues on, "He's sort of a mixed tabby, and he does the cutest thing where he'll wait for you to come in the room and then he'll reach out and swipe a paw at you from the top of the bookshelf! Isn't that adorable?" 

It's a mark to Annie's favor that she nods to this and listens while Britta goes on about her new and apparently hostile cat for several long minutes, but by the time they reach that smoothie shop, she realizes she's feeling miles better and Annie may be better at this than she thought. 

"Okay," she says as the cashier hands her a frothily blended concoction of wheat grass, raspberry and blueberry while Annie takes a more mainstream strawberry, only just now realizing that she's really agreed to this (is she crazy?). "I'll talk about me and Troy. But then it's cat-washing and Kony-watching, got it?" 

Maybe it won't be so bad, she thinks. After all, Annie's pretty smart, and she had her turn trying to get over Troy a long time ago. 

This could work.


End file.
